Meeting the Enemy
by blood-eclipse
Summary: Goku and the Z Senchi have a new enemy to face, and she doesn't play nice. How will the protectors of earth deal with this new crises? Find out in Meeting the Enemy Chapter 1: First to the Future
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ but I do own Mara.  
  
Saying Goodbye  
  
Chapter 1: First to the Future  
  
Blood trickled between her fingers as they tightened around the man's neck. His dying cry rent the silence of the destroyed city. Echoing off of the charred, crumbling buildings.  
  
"I'll kill you and your whole damn race." She hissed between clenched teeth, tightening her grip more.  
  
The sun glinted off of her razor sharp claws as she raised her right hand. Pulling backwards, she plunged her hand into his chest. Tearing back, she ripped out his beating heart. With a last gasp of pain, he slumped to the ground, dead. Kicking him away, she bit into the heart, relishing in the taste.  
  
"That's disgusting!"  
  
Out of the corner of her eyes, the girl saw a young man in his late twenties. The wind blew his light purple hair over his eyes. Finishing off the heart, she licked the blood from her fingers. Slowly she turned to him, smiling as the dead mans' blood dripped from her lips.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
"You just wiped out this entire city," He pushed his bangs out of his face, "Don't you have any remorse for what you've done?"  
  
Rubbing the blood from her lips, she shrugged, "I was hungry."  
  
"Who do you think you are?" His hair started to turn gold, slowly turning upwards. No one had ever pissed him off like this before, except for his father.  
  
A light blue aura emanated from her skin as she powered up too, "My name is Mara."  
  
"Interesting name, wouldn't you say Trunks?"  
  
She spun around. Another man, looking to be around the same age as the purple-haired man, stood with his arms crossed. His short, spiky black hair waved in the wind. Looking at this new person, she tucked her shoulder length blue hair behind her ears.  
  
"I agree Goten."  
  
Looking from Trunks to Goten, she smirked, "You think that just you two humans can defeat me when a whole city couldn't?"  
  
"We are NOT humans." A gruff voice came from behind her.  
  
Glancing over her shoulder, Mara saw a below average to an average height man, with very spiky hair (and a rather large forehead). He now completed a three-point arc around her.  
  
"Your not!" She blinked, "Then what on Earth are you?!"  
  
"We are Saiyans." A complete, 4 point circle was now finished. Opposite of the large- fore headed man was a taller man with messy black hair.  
  
"Late again Kakkarot." Said the gruff voiced one.  
  
The new arrival smiled, "I had to notify the others, Vegeta."  
  
"Others?" Mara raised an eyebrow, smirking.  
  
Six other men appeared in the other spaces around the circle. Making it impossible for her to escape, unless she flew upwards. This idea didn't quite appeal to her. Her eyes scanned over the group  
  
::If I fly up, they all just appear again. How am I supposed to get out of this mess::  
  
"What are you thinking about?" A tall green man dressed in a turban, cape and purple clothing asked.  
  
Mara examined her claws, "I'm plotting your deaths. By the way, who the hell are you and how the hell did you all just appear like that?"  
  
"We are the Z Senchi. The Protectors of Earth. I am Gohan!" He transformed into a Super Saiyan.  
  
"I'm Goku, or Kakkarot." The messy haired one grinned, going Super Saiyan too.  
  
Powering up, a three eyed my curled his hands into fists, "My name is Tien," Looking down at a little doll sized, clown faced boy beside him, he said, "This is my friend, Chiaotzu."  
  
Trunks smirked, "You already know my name."  
  
She rolled her eyes as the green man took of his weighted cape and turban, tossing them over his shoulder, " I am Piccolo."  
  
"Your not from Earth, are you?" She sighed.  
  
A short man with straight black hair powered up, "He's a Namekian. And my name's Krillen."  
  
"Prince Veg-" Everyone burst out laughing, except for Mara. She looked around at the laughing group. Most of them doubled over in giggles. The "prince's" face turned red. "SHUT-UP!! I AM A PRINCE!!!!" He roared, skipping right to the third level of Super Saiyan.  
  
Giggling, the next man in the circle powered up. Mara noticed he had many scars on his face, "I'm **giggle** Yamcha."  
  
Transforming to a Super Saiyan, the last person grinned, "Last but not least, I'm Goten!"  
  
"You can't all be Saiyans! I-" She began. Gohan stepped forward, "We're not. Only Vegeta, his son Trunks, his daughter Bura, my father Goku, my brother Goten, my daughter Pan and myself are Saiyans. My father and Vegeta are the only full Saiy-" A yellow beam, a foot in diameter shot from Mara's hand and punched a hole through Gohan's chest. Before anyone could react, she shot forward and drop kicked him. He landed miles away. Goten shouted his brother's name, but it was too late.  
  
"What did you do that for?!" Goku shouted, powering up past the first and second levels of Super Saiyan to the third.  
  
Smiling, Mara landed back in the center of the circle, "He talked too much, and interrupted me."  
  
"That doesn't give you the right to kill him!!" Tears flowed down Goten's cheeks as he followed his father's example and powered up to Super Saiyan level three.  
  
Piccolo, who had known Gohan since the half-Saiyan was a child, attacked first. Mara didn't move an inch as he raced forward, arm drawn back, ready to punch. Swinging forward, he punched her square in the jaw. But his fist passed right through her. She still seemed to be there, smiling cruelly at him. From above, Mara flew high speed downwards headfirst. Piccolo had just enough time to turn his head before her outstretched hand dug through the back of his chest. His eyes grew wide as her hand came out the front, holding his heart. Placing her feet against his back, Mara pulled her arm out and flipped backwards.  
  
Dropping the bloody heart on the ground, she turned to the rest of the Z Senchi, all of who were looking VERY angry. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," She wiped Piccolo's purple blood off of her arm on her clothes, "I know for a fact that Planet Vegeta blew up, and I'm damn sure nobody survived. Explain how there could be so many of you on this planet."  
  
"YOU DON'T DESERVE AN EXPLANATION!!!" Krillen cried, running towards her at a very fast speed.  
  
Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu followed his example. All four of them charged towards her. Looking up from her arm, Mara's bright green eyes widened as Tien administered a bone crunching kick to the side of her head. Goten stepped out of the way as she went sailing by, crashing into the debris of a destroyed building. Chiaotzu gave a 'good-job-thumbs-up' sign to his buddy for a job well done.  
  
Goku, Goten, Trunks and Vegeta weren't so easily fooled when Mara didn't stand up. The other four faced the pile of rubble with confusion when they noticed the four Super Saiyans hadn't dropped their power levels. The ground beneath their feet began to rumble and shake. All around the world, humans and animals could feel it. Something was definitely going down.  
  
In Capsule Corp. the rest of the Z Senchi's families were getting worried. Bulma and her daughter Bura decided it would be a good idea to lead everyone to a bomb shelter she had outside. ChiChi, Eighteen, Marron, Videl, Pan, Bura and Bulma cowered in the shelter. Soon Mrs. and Dr. Briefs, Bulma's parents, joined them.  
  
"Goku," Krillen shouted, taking to the air, "What's happening?!"  
  
"HOW AM I SUPPSOED TO KNOW?!" Goku yelled over the growing noise, following Krillen into the air.  
  
Suddenly, a beam wide enough to swallow Prince Edward Island burst from the ground below them. Goku and the other three Saiyans managed to fly out of the way before the beam reached their altitude. But Tien, Krillen, Yamcha and Chiaotzu weren't so lucky. All of them were caught in the beam as it flew onwards into space, slowly disappearing.  
  
"How in hell?!" Vegeta gapped at the beam.  
  
Trunks turned to look down at the gigantic hold in the Earth's crust. Far, far below, he could just barely see the molten core of the planet. Since he was the only one noticing it, the heart of the Earth decided to make itself even more noticeable by sending up one heck of a hello.  
  
"RUN!" He screamed, grabbing Goten's arm and rocketing off.  
  
Confused, Goku and Vegeta followed. Only to be plowed into the ground by the shockwave of the monstrous lava geyser. The few remaining Z Senchi were thrown across the country side, separated.  
  
"God damnit!" Vegeta grumbled standing up and looking around, "Where the hell did everyone go?!"  
  
"Oh, they're around," Mara grinned, breaking from the ground in front of him.  
  
"GALATIC GUN!" Vegeta roared, blasting a large yellow beam at her. With a flick of her wrist, she deflected the attack, knocking it over her shoulder and into the air. Immediately, Vegeta launched himself into the air and started firing rapid blasts at her. They exploded the instant they touched anything, including Mara. Everything was torn up by his attack.  
  
Landing on a boulder, Vegeta smiled at his handy work and dusted his hands off, "No possible way a weakling that her could have survived that!"  
  
"Guess I'm not such a weakling then," She said, kicking him in the back, "You were wrong to under estimate me. Dead wrong."  
  
He was knocked from the boulder, but instead of falling to the ground, he spun around in midair. She was already gone. Spit flew from the Saiyan Prince's mouth as her fist made contact with his stomach. The thoughts in his head were running a mile a minute.  
  
::How can she move so fast?! I'm at level three and I still can't see her, let alone attack!::  
  
"This has been fun Vegeta," Mara appeared in front of him, her index finger pointed at his chest, "But I've got three other Super Saiyans to take care of. Enjoy the next dimension."  
  
A sharp cry burst from Vegeta's lips as his body combusted, leaving no trace of him left on planet Earth. With a satisfied smirk, Mara took off, towards the nearest of the three remaining Z Senchi. But, something dropped from the sky.  
  
"Wha?!" She cried as fists pummeled her back, nailing her into the ground.  
  
"You killed him."  
  
Quickly she got up and spun around, nobody was there, just a bodiless voice whispering: you killed him! For the first time in a long while, Mara began to feel scared as the voice grew louder and louder, until finally it screamed in her ear.  
  
"YOU KILLED HIM!!" Trunks shouted. With tears snaking their way down his cheeks, he grabbed her around the neck, "You killed my dad!!"  
  
"Let. GO!" She grunted, rapidly punching him several times in the stomach. He let go, but only to wrap his arms around his waist. Mara raised her fists above her head and brought them crashing down at the base of his neck. The half-Saiyan's eyes snapped open as his spine shattered. She fell to the ground, limp as a wet spaghetti noodle. With her foot, she flipped him over onto his back and crouched down next to him,  
  
"I've hear stories about the Super Saiyans. That you're strong and impossible to defeat," A cold smirk appeared on her face, "Guess I proved those stories wrong."  
  
Trunks didn't say a word. He just stared blankly at her. With a sigh, Mara put her index finger over his heart. A thin white beam pierced through his body. As she was standing up, a small capsule rolled out of his jacket pocket.  
  
"Hmmm, what's this?" She bent down and picked it up, "Oh, it's one of those Capsule Corp. thingies. I wonder which-" Her head snapped up.  
  
Immediately, Mara's eyes scanned the horizon all around her. One of the two remaining Super Saiyans was on their way, and this one was the strongest out of them all. Instead of inspecting the capsule and its contents, she quickly shoved it into her jeans pocket and ducked behind a rock, lowering her power level to the point where it was unnoticeable.  
  
"Trunks? Vegeta? Dad?!" Goten called coming into Mara's view, "Hellloooooooooooo?"  
  
He passed over the area where Trunks and Mara were. As he continued to fly by, the girl moved behind a bunch of different boulders, keeping herself hidden the entire time until she was farther from Trunks then she was before. Slowly, the Super Saiyan made a circle over the land, coming back towards Trunks and the hidden girl. The dense man known as Goten landed on t he exact same boulder she was hiding behind.  
  
"I'm sure the last power I sensed was around this place," He sighed shading his eyes against the sun, "Two powers levels just disappeared. I know for sure that one of them was Vegeta's. The fact that the other PL could be Trunks' or dad's scares me."  
  
Rising up before him, Mara smiled cruelly, "Then prepare to be terrified."  
  
The Super Saiyan snapped his head back in surprise, then he glared at her, "Which one did you hurt?!"  
  
She reached out and turned his head in the direction where Trunks lay, "Go find out for yourself."  
  
Watching her, Goten jumped off the rock and stumbled over to where she directed him. Soon he caught sight of the dead man. The Super Saiyan stood and stared at his best friend in the whole world.  
  
"Can I ask you something before you kill me?" He asked, turning to her.  
  
She shrugged, "Sure."  
  
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Tear filled his eyes, "What has Earth ever done to hurt you?!"  
  
Mara shrugged again, "You did nothing. I would have left this planet all alone if you Z Senchi had just let me leave peacefully."  
  
Silent tears slid down Goten's face, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I only eat once every two years. So I attack a whole city. Only one city from one planet," She tossed his a Kleenex from her pocket, "It's a different planet every year, so I'm not doing much damage."  
  
"Then why are you killing all of us Protectors of Earth?" He wiped his eyes and blew his nose with the tissue.  
  
Behind her back, Mara formed a energy ball, "Self defense. You've got to remember, you attacked me first."  
  
Goten looked at his friend, "It doesn't really matter if you kill me or my dad. Our families will just use the dragonballs to wish us back."  
  
"I've heard of those," Mara smiled, taking advantage of him not looking, "And thank you for telling me that, I'll make sure to destroy the Namekian guarding them. Oh, and by the way, I can't believe you fell for my little lie." Goten looked as the energy ball was hurled at him, smack in the face. With little time to react, since they had only been a few feet apart, he just let the attack hit him. Not much damage was received from it; even through he was knocked through a couple boulders. Mara followed close behind, pounding him into the ground with many more blasts. With every attack, he was pushed farther and farther down, creating a huge crater. Groaning, Goten opened his eyes.  
  
The girl's smiling face came into focus, "I've got another question: how old are you?"  
  
She placed her claws against the side of his neck, "I'm seventeen years old. You?" "Twenty-nine."  
  
"Pity you've got to die at such a young age," She grinned, tearing out his throat.  
  
Blood, dripped from her claws onto his face. His glazed eyes stared up at her. With a sigh, she stood up and looked about. Closing her eyes, Mara searched for Goku's ki.  
  
"Too far off," She mumbled, taking flight, "He must have run in fear. Oh well, I've got to find that Namek in charge of the dragonballs. But where to look?"  
  
With a shrug, she flew off across the countryside at top speed. Zooming over farms and villages, rivers and lakes and hills and valleys, always keeping an eye out for something that might hint as to where the Namekian was hiding. Until.  
  
WHAM  
  
"Who the hell placed a damn pole in the middle of a forest?!" She shouted, prying her face off the carved wood.  
  
A weird tingle passed through her body as she looked up at the pole. She kept on looking up and up and up and up until it disappeared into the clouds. Being what she was, curiosity got the better of her and she shot up the pole like a rocket. Growing nearer to it's top, Mara could definitely tell something was at the top, and it was waiting for her. Sure enough, something that appeared to be a floating 'island' was drawing closer. It seemed to be made of cement, like a building, but it managed to be floating a foot or two off the top of the pole.  
  
Quickly, the seventeen year old flew up the curved side of the 'island' and came over the edge. There, standing between two rows of trees and flowers, was a short, fat black man, dressed in a turban, vest and white pants. Behind him, a magnificent building loomed tall.  
  
"So it is true," The fat man spoke, "A teenage girl has defeated the Z Senchi."  
  
Mara continued to hover in the air, "I'm looking for a Namek. He's in charge of the dragonballs."  
  
"What makes you think it's a Namekian?" He continued to stare at her with his large, round, white eyes, "Maybe it is I, Mr.Popo, who is the keeper."  
  
The girl's eyes narrowed, "Do not play mind games with me. I know that only Namekian's can control the dragonballs. Now tell me where he is!"  
  
"How do you know that it is a he? The guardian could be a she," Mr.Popo crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping she'd believe him.  
  
She burst out laughing, "Any idiot knows that there are no such things as female Namekians, they are all boys!! Now stop trying to bide your time, and tell me where he is if you value your life."  
  
"As long as Dende and the dragonballs are safe, then I do not value my life."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Mara sighed, "Stupid loyalties. Always bring about your death one way or another."  
  
Moments later, she was walking into the grand building, leaving behind her a devastating explosion. She started walking down a huge hallway, when all of a sudden, it expanded to twice its size, with new hallways just branching off out of no where.  
  
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" She called, putting her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound, "You can't hide forever Dende! I'll find you!"  
  
A tall, green man (looking a lot like Piccolo), with a tall walking stick, stepped out from behind a column, "By the time you find me, Goku will have already found the five remaining dragonballs, and he'll wish back the Z Senchi. Also, for your information, the Saiyans you've killed are going to come back stronger than they were when you killed them."  
  
"Congratulations to them, but I've already found you." She said, pointing at him.  
  
He smiled happily, "Actually you haven't. I am merely a shadow of myself. In fact, there are many shadows planted throughout my home, enjoy your hunt. But mind you, time draws short. Goku now only has four dragonballs to find." \  
  
Grumbling, Mara blasted the shadow and watched it shatter and disappear. She continued to stomp down the halls, blasting each shadow she came to after it told her how close Goku was to the next dragonball and how much time she had left. Finally, she came to the end of the main hallway. It opened up onto the main plaza. The burns of the explosion she had made earlier still smoked.  
  
Every room she had checked had been empty. Devoid of any Nameks, let alone other life forms. All that was left for her to check was a door. It didn't look too special at all. She tried the knob but it was locked. Pulling and pushing with all her might, still Mara couldn't open the door. Stepping back, she placed her hands in a cupped position by her hips.  
  
"KA-" A small, yellow energy ball began to form.  
  
"ME-" It grew larger and brighter.  
  
"HA-" She poured more of her power into it.  
  
"ME-" The blast's energy was enormous.  
  
"HA-" Mora roared, blasting the carefully concentrated beam of energy at the door.  
  
It splintered under the immense power of the Kamehameha attack. Wight an energy ball in hand, for protection, Mara stepped into the room. A gargantuan clock ticked above her head. Gazing around, she walked through the room and out onto a wide, white void.  
  
"God almighty," She gasped, staring at the whiteness stretching to all points of the compass, "Where the hell am I?!"  
  
"The Room of Space and Time. Or you could call it the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Dende stepped out from around a very tall, very wide hourglass, "It's Mara, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes," She nodded, raising the hand holding the energy ball, "And I've brought a nice present for you."  
  
"Nice try," He laughed, raising his staff to defend himself, "Goku is already preparing to wake the dragon. You have no choice but to face the entire Z Senchi again."  
  
Mara shook her head and threw the ball high into the air. Dende watched it, following the path it took. He thought it was a trick of the light, because to him, it seemed to be getting bigger, brighter and more powerful.  
  
Quietly, Mara turned and ran out the door. She didn't' stop running till she reached the edge of the plaza. There, she jumped and plummeted down towards Earth, using gravity and her flying ability to speed up her descent. A minute later, the look out blew up. The teen was knocked head over heels, just from the sound.  
  
"I really, seriously hope Goku didn't make that wish before I took care of the Namek," She sighed, floating on her back.  
  
Judging by how a Ki far off to her left flared greatly, her was right. It was then that she realized that the capsule she had taken from Trunks was still in her pocket. Pulling it out, she pushed in the top and threw it to the forest floor, fifteen feet below.  
  
Poof  
  
A large, yellow machine appeared in a puff of smoke. It stood on four, prong- like legs. A see-through plastic dome capped off the top. When Mara drew near, the top slowly opened, and she entered it, sitting in the only chair there. Buttons and levers lined a panel in front of her.  
  
"Whoa!" Mara stared, wide-eyed at all the pretty flashing lights, "I wonder which one turns this thingy on."  
  
A screen above the panel opened up and started flashing. It flashed minus twelve in big red numbers, filling the entire screen.  
  
"Red numbers must equal red button!" The teen wrongly concluded, scanning the buttons for a red one, "Nope, no red button,"  
  
She continued searching for a sign of what might start the machine.  
  
"MARA!!"  
  
Standing up, she peered over the edge of the top, "Oh, hello Goku. How ya doing? Ya look pretty damned pissed if ya ask me."  
  
"Get out of that time machine and come face me in battle!!" Super Saiyan level four Kakkarot roared.  
  
The ground rumbled when his awesome Ki flared beyond what she could ever hope to muster. But instead of coming out like he had demanded, she placed her hands on the panel, reflecting on what he had just said.  
  
"Time machine." She cocked her head and looked down at the fuming Saiyan.  
  
All of a sudden, the transparent dome slammed shut, knocking her back into the chair. Moderately fast, the machine rose off the ground, hovering in the air above Goku's head. It started to whir and hum.  
  
"What did I push?!" Mara cried.  
  
With a flash of white light, Mara and the time machine disappeared, leaving Goku screaming with frustration. She was screaming too, but not for the same reason. Her cries were of fear. The time machine barreled through a pitch-black tunnel. Patches of all the colors of the rainbow flashed at random intervals.  
  
Streaks of light blue lightning shot ahead of the machine, tearing a hole in the side of the tunnel. A bright light shone from the hole as it sucked the time machine into its shining light. The bright light became a swirling vortex of colors as Mara blacked out.  
  
NOTE: What'cha think about it, being my first fanfic and all? Please R&R! And, I may not know all the facts to DBZ because I've fallen behind in my watching, but I'm slowly getting there (so some facts might not be right, and if you notice they aren't for the love of God tell me so I can update my DBZ knowledge!) 


	2. Forgetting My Past and Your Future

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ but I do own Mara.  
  
Meeting the Enemy  
  
Chapter 2: Forgetting My Past and Your Future  
  
"I think she's waking up!"  
  
The words sounded fuzzy and distant to her ears. As she slowly opened her eyes, being blinded by the bright sun, her head throbbed. The first things she noticed when she was able to use her senses was the salty smell of the sea and the gentle lapping of waves against a beach.  
  
"Oh my God, are those cat ears. and a tail!!" Gasped a short, scrawny, old man with a turtle shell on his back.  
  
"You know what, I think they are!" Whispered a fat, little pig next to him.  
  
"Where am I?" She mumbled, trying to blink away the blurry vision as she sat up.  
  
A little black cat floated out from behind the pig, "You're on Roshi Island."  
  
"How did I get here?"  
  
"Uh, you fell from the sky." The old man scratched his baldhead.  
  
The girl tried to stand up, testing her legs, "What are you talking about, and who are you?!"  
  
The cat smiled, "I am Puar. This is Master Roshi and Oolong."  
  
Smiling, the pig stepped up beside the cat, "Um, you sort of fell from the sky in a big yellow machine. But somehow, you got out before it hit the water. Luckily, Eighteen saved you from drowning!"  
  
"Who is this Eighteen person?" She wobbled about the beach trying out her legs.  
  
"The better question is; who are you?" A tall woman with short, blond hair came out of the only house on the Island.  
  
Behind her, a short man with straight black hair followed her. To the cat- like girl, he looked familiar. A girl, maybe around fourteen or fifteen years of age, followed him.  
  
"I-I-I- I don't know."  
  
Master Roshi walked over and looked up at her. She looked down at him. In his hand, he held a staff a few inches taller than him. Reaching up, he placed it against her forehead. The girl's eyes glazed over as he read her mind.  
  
"Empty." He whispered as he searched her head for any information, "She's got amnesia. A really bad case of it."  
  
"Oh! Mom! I just got a great idea!" The teenage girl grinned, jumping up and down, "Let's adopt her as my sister! Please!!!"  
  
The short man smiled up at the blond haired woman, "That's a great idea! Please honey!"  
  
She sighed, "You'll both owe me BIGTIME!"  
  
"YEA!!" The short man and his daughter shouted, running forward and grabbing the girl in a big hug.  
  
Their eyes sparkled, "We get to name her!!"  
  
"Name me?!" The cat-girl shouted, backing away into the surf.  
  
Eighteen held her head as her husband and daughter sat down to think about possible names. Master Roshi, Oolong and Puar stared at the thinking pair. Meanwhile, the name-less girl stood with the waves washing against her feet. Suddenly, a tingling sensation shot down her spine. Hissing, the girl ran forward and ducked behind Eighteen.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Puar floated up to get a good look at the girl.  
  
The name-less one was crouching behind Eighteen, peering around her legs. Sticking out straight and puffy-like, her long white tail was very visible. Everyone was staring at her as she looked off at the horizon.  
  
"Maybe. nah, it's impossible." The short man stood up and followed her gaze.  
  
"Krillen, what's impossible?" Master Roshi and everyone else turned to look at the horizon.  
  
Five dots, some were yellow and some were blue, appeared at the horizon. All were streaking towards Roshi Island.  
  
The black haired man shaded his eyes, "Could she have actually been able to sense them before we could?"  
  
Soon, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goten were standing on the beach. Goten and Trunks were talking to Krillen's daughter Maron. The adults were talking about the girl from the sky. She, meanwhile, was sitting near the lapping waves, poking at a crab with a stick. When three shadows covered the crab and it scuttled away, she looked up.  
  
Goten and Trunks knelt down and looked her in the face. She leaned away from them, "Um, Can I help you?"  
  
They continued to stare at her. Slowly she got up and walked away. The two boys followed her. So she started walking faster. Immediately they sped up. Not long after, she was running around the edge of the island on all fours and they were flying after her. That is until Eighteen got irritated. It took Vegeta and Goku three hours to track down the boys and drag them out of the ocean.  
  
Later that night (after midnight), the phone Bulma had installed on the island rang. Instead of picking it up, Krillen let the answering machine pick it up.  
  
"PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE YOU IDIOTS!! I KNOW YOUR THERE!!!" Bulma's voice shook the windows.  
  
Groggily, Master Roshi put the phone and speaker, "It's three in the morning! Why are you calling so late?!"  
  
Cooling down now that someone had picked up the phone, she spoke quickly, "I need to talk to Krillen, Eighteen or Maron right away!"  
  
"This late at night! I think not," He pulled the pillow over his baldhead.  
  
Bulma's voice began to rise again, "But I've got the PERFECT name for their new daughter and I'm sure she wants a name a.s.a.p!"  
  
Maron was at the phone in a second, "Tell me, now!"  
  
If the blue haired genius woman had been there, they would have seen the biggest smile ever, "Neko."  
  
Oolong sat up on the couch, "Doesn't that mean cat (or something like that) in Japanese?"  
  
"Well, she's a cat-girl! What did you expect?" She growled at the pig, "Where is she anyways?"  
  
Puar floated up from her basket by the window, "For some weird reason, she wanted to sleep outside."  
  
"Alright then, well all the girls and guys and me are going to drop by tomorrow to see your new sister. See you, Maron." Bulma hung up.  
  
Maron leaned out the window and shouted to her sister, "We've got a name for you! How about Neko?"  
  
"Love it!"  
  
"Great! Good night!"  
  
At around 10 in the morning, everyone was woken up when loud voices and bangs on the door jarred them from their beds. Krillen threw open the door to find all the Z Senchi and their families standing on the beach. Those in the house came out and yelled at everyone for waking them up so early.  
  
That's when they all realized the cat girl was gone.  
  
All the people who could fly took flight and went to search the world for her. The people who couldn't fly went inside the house to chat because they were sure that their family members would find her. Never did they expect what would happen next.  
  
Goten and Trunks flew over the ocean, searching for the Ki of Neko.  
  
"What makes you so sure she tried to swim away?" The black-haired teenage boy looked at his friend.  
  
"Remember yesterday when Maron said that her 'sister' had fallen from the sky in a big machine and it sunk to the bottom of the ocean?" Trunks stopped and hovered above the water, "Well, maybe Neko decided to go looking for it."  
  
Suddenly, both boys fired energy blasts at the air in front of them. A man phased into their plane and dodged the attacks.  
  
"Nice shots. But if there are two of you, you should always have one person shoot first and when your opponent dodges it, the next person catches them off guard."  
  
The boys nearly fell into the sea with surprise as they realized that they had just tried to attack Goku.  
  
Struggling to keep in the air, Trunks floated forward and looking over the older Saiyan, "You look different since I saw you ten minutes ago on the Island. did you change your clothes?"  
  
Tears filled Goku's eyes as he grabbed both of them into a big hug, "I'm so glad that both of you are alive!"  
  
Gasping for air, the black-haired teen pushed away, "You saw us just a little while ago, of course we're alive."  
  
"Actually," Goku let go of the purple-haired teenager; "I didn't see you on the Island because I wasn't on the Island. I'll explain everything, but we've got to go back to meet with the other's first."  
  
Confused at what Goku was talking about, the two teenage half-Saiyan boys followed him back to the Island. There, they waited for every one to return before he explained everything.  
  
"YOUR FROM THE FUTURE?!" Chichi grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him back and forth, "ALL THIS TIME YOU'VE BEEN FROM THE FUTURE?!?!?!"  
  
"Please stop that," Future Goku sighed picking her up by the shoulders and moving her away, "I just got to this time line."  
  
Krillen paced around the room, "If you're here, then where is our Goku?"  
  
"Since when did I belong to you?" Kakkarot opened the front door.  
  
He stopped cold and stared at the other Goku as the door slammed shut behind him. The future version of himself stood up and faced him. The two Saiyans stared at each other for a few minutes before Gohan broke the tension in the room.  
  
"Dad, this is Future you. All problems solved," He smiled.  
  
The Future Goku shook his head, "Wrong Gohan. All problems are far from solved. I came to the past because I followed someone here. Her name is Mara, and in the future, she killed all of you."  
  
"Kind of like what the androids did (no offence Eighteen)," Master Roshi took a sip of his tea, "What does 'Mara' look like?"  
  
He shrugged, "Short blue hair, green eyes, sharp nails and elf-like ears. That's all I can remember."  
  
"Speaking of remembering. I just remember we still haven't found Neko!" Maron gasped, jumping up.  
  
Chichi jumped away from the closet when someone started to bang on the door, "I'm locked in the closet!! LET ME OUT!!!"  
  
Yamcha twisted and pulled the doorknob, "It's locked from the inside and outside."  
  
"Then break the stupid door down!!" Neko's muffled voice shouted from the closet.  
  
Piccolo sighed, "I don't think Eighteen wants us breaking any more parts of her house."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Flash back to last week:  
  
"DID YOU HAVE TO BLOW A TEN FOOT HOLE IN MY KITCHEN CEILING?!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Neko banged on the door some more, "It doesn't matter if you break the door down! We'll need to replace it anyways because I was using it as a scratching post!!"  
  
"You what?!" Eighteen dug her fingers into the edges of the door and pulled it off its hinges and threw it to the ground. Sure enough scratch marks covered the entire other side of the (now broken) door.  
  
Falling over, Neko crawled out of the closet, her fists red from beating on the door. Looking up, she saw that all the people in the room were staring down at her. Slowly she stood up and looked around at all the people.  
  
Then she focused on Goku and his future self, "Are you two twins?"  
  
Goku shook his head, "No, he's from the future and came to warn us about some one who killed all of them," He gestured at the rest of the Z Senchi, "and the she traveled back to our time."  
  
"You wouldn't happen to be her, now would you?" Future Goku stepped towards her.  
  
"Owie," Goten whimpered as she clawed her way up her back and onto the top of his head.  
  
She hissed at the future Kakkarot, "I don't like you. You smell like evil."  
  
The half-Saiyan swayed under Neko's weight, "Get off of my head!"  
  
"I smell evil?" The pureblood blinked.  
  
Tien reached up and pulled the half-cat off of Goten, "She looks nothing like the girl you described Goku. I mean, your killer had shoulder length blue hair. Neko has red hair down to her butt. She couldn't have killed the future us, she doesn't have the power to do that,"  
  
"Where did she come from? I sure as heck don't remember Krillen and Eighteen having another kid," Future Goku leaned on the back of the couch, "Let alone the fact that she looks like a cat."  
  
Eighteen signed, "I pulled her from the ocean after she fell from the sky in some sort of machine. The machine sunk before I could get it. And now she has amnesia."  
  
"Alright then, I'd keep an eye on her if I were you," Future Goku headed for the front door, "I'm going to stay here in your time line for a while. I'm not going back until I catch and kill Mara."  
  
Vegeta stared out the window at Future Goku as he flew away, "Why didn't he just instant transmit to the New Namek and use the dragonballs there to wish the future us back to life?"  
  
Goku looked at Neko as she sat in a corner with her head in her knees, "I remember how much hate I was filled with when Frieza killed all the Namekians and Krillen. There's no doubt that future me was so angry and hateful towards Mara that he forgot all about New Namek and focused on finding and killing her."  
  
"Just the thought of Goku going on a revenge rampage sends shivers down my spine," Bulma shivered.  
  
Neko mumbled, "He smells evil."  
  
Maron knelt down beside her adopted sister, "Why, why does he smell evil?"  
  
"Because he's out to kill," She looked up and they saw that she was crying, "Killing is wrong, even if it's someone who killed before. Life is precious and we shouldn't waist it. No matter who you are, when you've decided your going to kill someone. you're pulled over to the dark side."  
  
Every one leaned in to hear better as she continued, "It wasn't technically I smell, but a sense. I sensed the evil, the anger, the hate he has for Mara because she killed his friends and family."  
  
"I think you've been locked in the closet for too long," Oolong laughed, "Maybe next time you should try a padded room."  
  
Bulma dropkicked the pig out the window, "This is no time for laughing matters! A psychotic girl, capable of killing all of you (twelve years in the future where you're probably a lot stronger than you are now), is on the loose. We need to find her and stop her before she kills anyone else."  
  
For the next few days, the Z Senchi spent everyone waking hour scouring the planet for Mara. Occasionally, one of them would bump into the Future Goku and fill him out about what they've found (which was absolutely diddly squat). Everyday though, they would drop in at Roshi Island and visit Neko to see how she was doing. Apparently, her meeting with Future Goku had traumatized her a bit.  
  
Goten and Trunks visited more than three times daily, each time arriving with little trinkets and toys for Neko and Maron to amuse their selves with. Plus, everyone found out that when the cat-girl is depressed or traumatized, she cooks. She cooks a lot and a lot of good, yummy food. And thanks to the voracious appetite of the Saiyans, there was always room in the fridge for more food.  
  
Being as quiet as she was, Neko was able to observe the people around her. She noticed how much of a pervert Master Roshi was (Oolong too), that Trunks and Maron seemed kind of close, and how very cute (and naïve) Goten was. Nobody seemed to see that she baked extra sweet goodies for him, and always had a whole cake saved just for him. IF they did notice, no one ever said a word.  
  
Weeks later, there was still no clues to finding Mara's whereabouts. Having another girl closer to her age around the house was fun for Maron. She'd spend hours talking about the past, present and future to the cat-girl. Neko didn't seem to mind. Actually, she looked quite happy to have someone talk to her so much.  
  
It had been to months that Neko had been on Roshi Island. Everyone was used to her and couldn't even imagine what the house would be like if she was gone. Trunks, who noticed how Goten seemed to be oblivious to how much attention Neko gave him, decided to confront his rather stupid friend.  
  
"Goten, I need to talk to you about something," He grabbed his friend's arm and led him out onto the balcony of his bedroom at capsule corp.  
  
"Be right back!" Goten shouted over his shoulder to Maron, Bura, Pan and Neko (they had finally gotten her off the Island).  
  
Trunks shut the balcony's glass door, "She likes you!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Sighing, Trunks shook his head, "It's been clear from day one, Goten. Neko has a HUGE crush on you!"  
  
"She does?" Goten looked back through the glass doors at the three girls.  
  
"Yes she does! Every time we went to Roshi Island she'd always have some sort of special treat for you," Trunks leaned on the rail of the balcony, "And she's always listening to you and looking at you. Don't tell me you've never noticed."  
  
He grinned sheepishly, "Alright then, I won't tell you."  
  
Trunks' eye twitched, "You have got to be the most densest man o-"  
  
CRACK  
  
"LOOK OUT!"  
  
Both boys ducked as a baseball, flying over 100 mph, came zooming past. Goku and Vegeta (having given up on the search for Mara like most of the other Z Senchi) had gotten bored and decided to play baseball. Unfortunately, anybody within a 100-mile radius was not safe while they played this happy little game.  
  
"No!" Goten gasped as it crashed through the balcony doors and beaned Neko on the back of the head. We all know how much it hurts to get hit with a baseball when a human hits or throws it. No I want you all to imagine how much it would hurt if a baseball going over 100-mph, hit by one of the strongest beings in the universe, hit you in the back of the head. Yes, it would hurt that much (and maybe even more).  
  
Maron, Bura and Pan screamed at the top of their lungs and Neko fell forward, unconscious. Goku and Vegeta flew up to the balcony and followed Trunks and Goten into the room. Picking her up, Goku rushed Neko down stairs to the medical room Bulma had installed (since Vegeta tended to hurt himself a lot in the gravity chamber).  
  
"Will she be OK?" Maron cried as Bulma hooked Neko up to a whole bunch of machines and started taking some tests.  
  
Trunks dropped a hand on Maron's shoulder; "Don't worry, if there's something wrong, my mom will find it."  
  
Somewhere in Africa, Future Goku whipped his head around and looked in the exact same direction Capsule Corp was in. A little blip of Ki had caught his attention, a very familiar Ki. Quickly he instant transmitted straight to the home of the capsule (a handy dandy little storage device thingy.).  
  
"What happened?!" He asked as everyone turned to look at him.  
  
Goten pointed a finger at Vegeta, "He hit a baseball and it hit Neko in the head."  
  
"I knew it had something to do with her!" Future Goku gently moved Bulma out of the way to get a better look at Neko.  
  
Nothing about her looked different, besides the fact that she was frowning while she was unconscious. That's when he got the idea. The idea that would help him prove his theory that Neko was in fact Mara.  
  
"Where is Eighteen?" He turned to the rest of the group.  
  
Krillen scratched his head, "I think she's at Roshi Island. Why?"  
  
"Nothing of great importance. Just need to ask her a question," Future Goku waved goodbye as he instant transmitted away.  
  
Just as he left, Neko woke up. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her head. Then she lowered her hand and looked at them, she looked at her tail and reached up to touch the ears and whiskers.  
  
"Oh great, I'm back to this stupid form," She sighed, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and looked up at the group of people, "Um, do I know you?"  
  
Future Goku and Eighteen flew off the Island to where she thought Neko and the machine had fallen the day Neko became part of the family.  
  
"This is it. I think," Eighteen hovered above the water, "Twenty three meters from the Island, if my calculations are correct."  
  
Nodding, Goku thanked her and dove into the water. Instead of actually swimming like a normal person, he shot through the water using his flying skills (just like he would in the air). Keeping his eyes open, even though it stung a lot, he swam-flew straight down to the bottom of the ocean.  
  
::A fish probably ate it or something. There is definitely a slim chance of me.. Actually. FOUND IT!!!::  
  
He quickly grabbed the little capsule off of a sea sponge and instant transmitted himself to Capsule Corp's front lawn. Even though he should have dried off because the salt water would start to make his skin itch real soon, he pushed in the top of the capsule and tossed it across the grass. Sure enough, the time machine Mara had stolen appeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
"I knew it!! She's a rotten shape shifter!" Future Goku smiled at his success as he turned Super Saiyan and faced the house.  
  
Neko came bolting out the front door, Maron and the others hot on her trail.  
  
"Neko?! What's wrong?!"  
  
WHAM  
  
She plowed right into Super Saiyan Future Goku.  
  
"Hello. Mara," He grabbed her shoulders as she looked up at him.  
  
The group stopped cold as what he had said sunk in.  
  
Note: Ok, I'm leaving it at that because I'm tired of this chapter. I'm working on the next soon. Yes, this one isn't as gory as the last one, and there is no death, but I felt more like writing some funny stuff. well, I think it's funny at least. Please R&R!! 


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